The Ash Ketchum Theory
by MoonlitxAngel
Summary: He'd won the Pokemon League only to find himself laying in a hospital bed... What had happened to him? Writer's Block gone thanks to Ashton Nauran!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I found this theory on a forum site. I wanted to share this with all of you. Apparently it was made by a psychology major in college as an assignment… I don't know though. It explains some stuff throughout the Pokemon series that people may be wondering about. I may base a story off of it. The last part actually gave me the idea for a story to write. Maybe his adventures in the real world…

Did one ever know the reason why the pacing and story development change after Ash was hit by lightning in the beginning episodes? How Ash and his world were relatively normal until after the incident? I have a theory. The accident with the bike put Ash in a coma. Days later he was found and was hurried to the hospital and treated with heavy medications. This is why Team Rocket became less menacing. The medication took effect and stabilized his coma dreams, instead of being terrifying, they became idyllic, and he's able to live out his Pokémon master fantasies.

If one had noticed, the early episodes of Pokémon were of amazing quality. The rest of the series is just the results of his subconscious mind fulfilling his desires, as well as attempting to escape them. Should Ash realize he's in a coma, he would wake up, but suffer brain damage. So he has to take down all his mental barriers one by one until he can come to grips with what he is and escape his coma.

This explains why he doesn't change much physically. Also, the worldwide socialism can be explained if you once again realize that this is a dream world; he thought up a safe system of government that would run smoothly and keeps the world going allowing his adventures to work like they do. It also explains a few other things, such as how a child can go off on his own in a world full of dangerous untamed animals, and why every Pokémon center has the same exact nurse. Joy and Jenny he knew from his hometown, and they act as a safety net or anchor, allowing him to feel safe no matter where he goes. The professors, like the Joy's and Jenny's represent stability, and ash's ideals. This is why Gary became a professor. It's also the reason that every time he enters a new region, virtually no one has heard of him, despite his conquests, and why Giovanni leads Team Rocket. How could Paul, the rival of the Sinnoh area, not know of someone who has placed in at least the top 16 of all three leagues and has destroyed the Orange league and Battle Frontier?

Ash's travelling partners are actually aspects of himself he can enjoy, but doesn't like to associate with himself. Team Rocket are his qualities that he deems "negative", but is coming to terms with. Jesse and James want to appease Giovanni, Ash's Father. Meowth especially wants to appease him because he remembers the good times with Giovanni. This Places meowth in a category known as ash's (corrupted) innocence, and another fragment of ash's humanity. If you note that meowth can speak this quickly becomes apparrent. In fact the whole reason for meowth's speech is so he can help Ash accept Team rocket as part of himself eventually.

Brock is Ash's repressed sexuality. He fell into the coma a virgin and needed an outlet for his growing sexual frustrations. Since he can never experience sex, Brock must never succeed. Brock is a projection of his sexuality, and is constantly shot down because Ash could never "know" sex. Brock isn't just Ash's latent sexuality, he's also his fatherly instincts, neither of which Ash can come to terms with. Brock leaves his siblings to "journey" with Ash. because Ash can't cope with having that much responsibility, much as his foray with a real relationship ends on mysterious terms. Ash just cannot handle commitment at his mental level. Brock's Stay with professor Ivy was to outright suppress his sexuality. You'll notice that James got much more dialogue in this part of the series, as well as getting more touchy feel-y with his pokemon and getting most of his backstory. Ash didn't enjoy this much, hence the reasons Brock comes back all horrified, and refuses to speak about it. (ash's subconscious was repressing him at the time, so other than a general feeling of dread he has no idea of what went on then.) This is also why brock keeps coming back to the series....Usually AFTER Ash meets a new girl aspect of is an image that Ash had of a girl. This is why she plays so prevalently in the series but is ultimately unattainable because he never really knew her before the coma. Likely the one that helped get him to a hospital. I have a theory in line with this: Since Misty was his initial love interest (if only subconsciously), he needed her to reach a level of womanhood. He felt that people could only have relationships when they've matured. But in practice, it turned out he couldn't cope with it and just wanted the normal, pushy, arrogant Misty he knew, and wouldn't let her keep Togepi anymore.

Misty is Ash's first attempt at a girl he could love, however, being a girl from the real world, all he really he knew of her was her anger, as a result she ended up quite hot headed in his mind. Constantly berating his sexuality, but eventually mellowing out until she had faded into the background. This was also traumatizing to him, being attached to it. Since then, the thought of anyone around him maturing to adulthood has been blocked, and anyone who shows signs of it will quickly end up leaving for another, more naive fill-in.

Max came with May, she played the Id with great aspirations, and he played the sensible Ego that "Session". They worked for a little while but Ash, being a teenager, eventually had his sexuality had to come back into play. He kept reinventing himself and eventually wrote new aspects, but his mind slowly brought back the old ones as a crutch to make the transition easier.

Dawn is Ash giving himself a chance to love. since he already established Misty as someone he's not likely to go anywhere with, he created a new super female, one that was more like him, and less violent all the time. (One will note that both May and Misty had no tolerance for Brock whatsoever whereas dawn seems to try and shrug it off.) .

Tracey, The Breeder was a possible future for Ash that he discarded. It was one that he sent off to work with the Professor (the professors being Ash's ultimate ideal of a father figure) when he disrupted the dynamic Ash had with his other possibilities. Ash's mind is fighting the coma and since Ash viewed this one as a companion he was quickly replaced with a more threatening Rival.

Pikachu obviously represents Ash's Humanity, hence the episodes where they get separated, and ash wants desperately to find him, even to the point of working with the rockets ( aspects of himself he woould never normally associate with) but for some reason cannot. They want to steal Pikachu (Ash's humanity) and hand it over to his father, Giovanni. Jesse and James will always oppose ash because ash is terrified of the thought of his humanity lying in the hands of his father. However this is the same reason that he will work with those aspects of himself in order to save his humanity from just becoming flat out LOST. He couldn't evolve his Pikachu without challenging his concept of who he was, something he wasn't comfortable with while he was still working through his original issues.

Another thing is the narrator. The narrator is Ash's higher mind, recapping and explaining the progress he's made and the tribulations he will face allowing itself insight into how best to awaken him.

Ash has issues With his Father; so he put him atop the evil corporation, and demonized him. There may be an actual team rocket, and I'm positive they're quite dastardly, but I doubt that ash's father is their leader, in fact the head of the rockets wasn't really identified as anyone until later on in the series. The split between ash's parents was likely over ash's homosexuality and some sort of incident as a catalyst, forcing his father to disown him and his mother to move out of the city and down to pallet town. This is why Giovanni runs the faceless Vile corporation, and Why he Berates Jesse, James, and Meowth as much as he does, and why they keep trying to please him. Another thing to notice is the difference in uniform, The rockets Wear Black and Red, where Team Rocket wears White....a symbol of their purity and naievete. They're willing to please father despite his utter hatred of those parts of Ash .

Team rocket are aspects of Ash's personality that he has deemed "bad" James implied homosexuality, and Jesse's vanity. You'll remember that Meowth has the potential for rehabilitation, and doesn't want to be evil, so yet again this fits in with the conflicting personalities and demonized self theory. Team rocket started cross-dressing because ash had to come to terms with that part of himself. It was something he was able to allow his ***/vain side to experiment with (and by virtue of that himself) When he found that it wasn't something for him, his "Free" side stopped playing with it. Further, their methods of capture become more and more ludicrous (and physically impossible) because Ash is just a kid dreaming these things up. This is the reason Team Rocket's disguises are always believed. He knows it's them (on some level), but chooses to ignore it, so he can better himself, in a sense the Ash who wants to escape is sabotaging the ash who wants to stay lost in his mind. So that there can be more conflict, and hopefully an eventual escape. The filler episodes that don't focus on Ash and the gang are his mind working through, and humanizing the parts of himself that he demonized. It's a way for him to deal with issues that Ash and crew wouldn't touch, because it involves treading ground he himself had sworn not to go near. As I said, Team Rocket and the episodes they occupy are Ash dealing with ground he feels uncomfortable with tackling on his own. Jessie is Ash's vanity and gullibility, she will trick Ash's submissive homosexuality into doing her bidding so she can please father. James' troubled childhood is his way of justifying his latent homosexuality. Now James is Ash's latent homosexuality, hence why he is constantly punished by Pokémon and attacked by random attractive girls. I believe the split between Ash's parents was caused by this part of Ash, maybe an incident at school, bringing shame on the family and forcing them to move to the small, country town of Pallet. Ash's motivations for his journey were to escape mounting pressure at home.

So in a way, Ash IS Team Rocket. The rest of the whole organization Including Butch and Cassidy is symbolic of his inability to escape his father's machinations.

Mr. Mime is actually a stand in for Ash's father, one that can't emotionally abuse him or his mom. He is a Pokémon, a peace loving creature that's oddly humanoid, but that can never hurt a human. Ash's was never really hurt by a Pokémon, so he sees them all as harmless; whereas, in the real world they may be quite feral or vicious (as seen in the early episodes). Again falling back to the theory that the only real Pokémon are the ones from the first season, and everything else is just further speculation coming from his mind on what new species would look like.

The new teams ( magma, aqua, and galactic) are Ash attempting to work out the problems he has with his father. to do that he first needs a new "bad guy" to feel good about beating, and if Giovanni isn't leading a criminal organization he can more easily relate to him.

If one recalls, there were real animals early in the show and references to animals in the game and show. For example, a clear case to point out is the aquarium of fish in the Cerulean City Gym or that by the Pokédex that Pikachu is a "rat-like" Pokémon. But they don't matter to Ash's psyche so they don't come into play much. If Ash had loved puppies, everything would be about different breeds of dogs, and a dog fighting circuit. But, as the series goes on longer, we've been seeing less realistic animals and more Pokémon. This could be a sign of Ash's mind deteriorating. As he's in this coma, he's losing concepts of some animals and machinery and replacing them with Pokémon. It could explain things like electric Pokémon working as power generators. A sign that his memory of the old world is slipping more and more as time goes by. The Pokémon realm will be idealized continuously the longer he has no stimulus from the real world. He may or may not be mentally deteriorating , but he is becoming more accustomed to his fake world's rules. The wild Pokémon are his rationalizations of the functioning of the world. It's the "A wizard did it" Syndrome. If he doesn't know how it works, his mind says Pokémon. He justifies anything he can't explain with Pokémon, and real animals fall into the background because he has no real interest in them.

The Pokémon in Ash's team are his issues, for example Charmander represents his sex drive (not his sexuality like Brock) at first it's a cute easy to control thing, but eventually becomes a raging inferno of disobedience. Acquiring his team means getting at his issues, but as he trains them, he works said issues out. Other trainers are more direct forms of his issues, ones that he must either come to terms with or outright supress. Gym leaders are more primary aspects of his personality with each Pokémon being stronger than the last, to display a level of skill he could be capable of if only he gave into it. In effect, he is doing battle with a part of him that he would rather not have in control. Bulbasaur was Ash's unwillingness to change, this is reflectedwhen it declines to evolve and how it almost decided to stay behind unless he battled it. Squirtle was his willingness to follow the lead of others, as evidenced by the gang it ran with, even though he ran the gang, they were viewed as one group, and ash's subconscious just gave him the strongest one. Butterfree was his crushing loneliness, which he dealt with when he released it to join a flock. His bird types are his recklessness, always willing to sacrifice something at a moment's notice for the win. When Ash is trading Pokémon, it's an attempt to push his own problems away on someone else; however, he realizes this and usually trades back fairly quickly. Originally ash had the battles, which evolved into team battles and contests. The explanation for this is that his issues became more and more complicated, and the means of dealing with them needed to become more complex. the fact that he uses issues that he has already dominated to win these are signs that he's growing stronger.

Not only are Ash's Pokémon are a manifestation of different parts of himself, so are Pokémon of other trainers as well. Koffing and Ekans were symbolic of Team Rocket's willingness to change; hence, their evolutions. Once his mind beat that roadblock down and allowed them to change once, it gives him the chance to truly change. Pupitar is a rationalization, a Pokémon that a rival caught before he met him. Even Ash would become suspicious if everyone he met had no carry-over from pervious places he had been to.

Ash releases his Pokémon because his mind is forcing him to let go of them. The second he raises an overpowered team, a tournament comes up, and after fighting his way through it he has to go to a new land for new challenges, but with an overpowered team, there won't be any challenges, and no way to motivate him further, part of Ash wants to stay in the coma, and keep journeying.

Ash's travelling also never really nets him any fame, no matter what he does, or where he goes, and the answer for that is simple. Ash just can't picture himself as famous, so he essentially adopts a new identity every few months.

The reason he never truly becomes a master is because that would mean he'd have nothing left to dream, and would wake up from his coma. Ash's dual personality is one that wants to maintain his fantasy world and slowly sort his thoughts out carefully. The other part wants freedom, and to return to his real life, to finally become a real Pokémon master. However if he's allowed to keep his powerful team there's no reason to meet and tame new Pokémon(Issues), he'll lose interest, and the chance of becoming self-aware comes around again. So it's not that he gives them up, it's that he loses them, and unless he's desperate (such as with Charizard) he can't get them back. It's basically his mind forcing him to deal with his issues. It would also be a good reason why Paul has shown up at this point, and Ash has been forced to work with him on at least one occasion: It's his mind's last ditch efforts to snap him out of this, to force Ash to actually come to terms that this perfect world is not the best option and he needs to wake up. Paul is Ash's dark side, one that wants to push on even harder and harder, and the part of him that will stop at nothing to escape this coma world.

Ash's rivals and the Elite four are ultimately the strongest part of this cycle. Having Pokémon that are essentially godlike, they represent both what can be attained and what is unattainable. Gary Oak is what Ash wants to be. He is wish fulfillment. He succeeded, and settled down to a normal life. Ash needs someone to succeed in his world or he won't be able to validate it and will start questioning why he's where he is. It's a subconscious trap to keep him from becoming too aware of his situation. His mind must have figured out that awareness of the coma would snap him out of it, but it would cause major brain damage, so it took something the boy already loved and built a way out for him with it. However Ash is too complacent to finally fight his way out of it, and cannot escape. This is why he keeps encountering Legendary Pokémon, they're his mind's way of showing him he can do great things if he tries, and it's a way to encourage him to push forwards. The Legendary Pokémon are Ash's mind telling him that he has greatness in him and thus, can escape his happy–go–lucky reality.

Ash's Rivals are all possible futures he envisions for himself (note that they are all older than him). This originated with Gary Oak, someone Ash knew from real life, and built up into a sort of god within his mind. Gary however progressed and changed to suit Ash's vision of himself and ultimate desire, eventually settling down into a professor after beating the Elite Four. With Gary in retirement his mind needed a new rival for him Thus the births of Richie (the Good aspect of his rivalry) and Paul (as the darker aspect, a cut-throat Ash, willing to do anything to escape the coma world).

Richie and his Pikachu were another success story for Ash, but he wanted one he could be closer with. One nearly identical to him. One that even used a similar roster to him. Paul and his Chimchar are the polar opposite of Richie, Paul wants nothing to do with any kind of weakness, and is almost aware of his situation. He's always pushing for something more.

The reason he discarded his original hat and the elements of japanese culture so prevalent in the first season is simple. He wanted to travel and broaden his horizons, every time he reinvented himself to do so; he lost touch with his original self. If he ever does escape the coma he'll likely have achieved a sort of Zen state. Considering the amount of personal issues he deals with inside his head, it's entirely likely that he was the next Buddha of the Pokémon world, and that the lightning strike and subsequent coma are a way for him to realize his true self, and destiny.

Mewtwo was a new form of treatment, done with electric impulses and a machine to knock Ash out of it, taking down every last one of his mental guards (the original Pokémon in the movie). In Ash's mind, Mewtwo and his clones were the treatment for the mental safe guards that were protecting Ash and keeping him comatose; the Pokémon of his world. The clones were counters to Ash's mental safeties, and so each appeared to Ash as the exact copy of his defense, intended to take it down by Force. The clones didn't play by the rules of Ash's world, they didn't use any special Pokémon attacks or moves – they just beat down their counterpart by brute strength. The treatment was working, but there were side effects. The electric jolts were beginning to affect Ash's nervous system, and if the treatment continued, he would be paralyzed. His mind realized this and manifested it to Ash by petrifying him in his dream. Were it not for the end of the treatment by Ash's mother (knowing her son would never want to live in a world he couldn't explore) Ash would have remained as stone in his dream. After this, Ash needed to recover from the damage of the electric therapy. Obviously it was greatly dangerous to him, and in order to reduce the danger Ash's consciousness felt from it, Ash's subconscious began downplaying the effects of electricity in Ash's world, which is why Pikachu's electric attacks -once noted for their strength by Team Rocket – no longer have any effect on Ash, other than comic relief.

Even the world Ash lives in evidences this. The sprawling forests and eco friendly cities are all his childish innocence. He never travels on a bike despite the distance due to the accident having given him a phobia of them.

As one could see, it is very likely that Ash is trapped in his world. But like every dream, everything, there is a beginning and an end. What would happen if Ash could fully recover? What would happen if he never does? There are infinite branches of possibilities that spiral upwards and intertwine towards the top at a single point, both in his "world" and the real world. In his hospital room, we see Delia, obviously distraught talking to a doctor with a grim look in his eye. He's saying that their insurance is up, and the boy has had no change in brain activity for seven years. That a shock like this may awaken him. She tearfully agrees.

Professor Oak is there to comfort her as they take Ash off life support.

In Ash's "world".

Ash has finally defeated the elite four, and one by one the people around him start disappearing. eventually everything is black. Pikachu comes dashing towards him glowing brighter and brighter in the darkness. Eventually Pikachu reaches ash and the two embrace one last time.

Back in his room, as his life signs fade, Ash mutters his genuine, final words.

I...Want...To...Be,

The...Very...Best.

The image of his gaunt, tube-fed, ten-some-year bed ridden body on the bed. His head appears bulbous from atrophy. As he utters his last words, he barely opens his eyes, seeing a silhouette of the figure at the center of his turbulent emotions, his mother, her face obstructed by her hands wiping away tears. He makes contact with her eyes and lets out one last tear before losing all strength. She breaks down in hysterics.

The worst part of all this is that Ash will die, never having experienced actual love, imagine if you will, having lived in a world like his, completely shut off from all things but yourself, and your perception of yourself, with nothing but better yourself. No other people to interact with and issues to solve with no guiding hand.

The boy will die, never having known his dream, except as naught but a dream. The second he gets out into reality for that last moment, part of him knows it was all a lie, his faithful Pikachu? His friends? All his imagination, and maybe, he could have fought and clung to life, maybe even made a full recovery. But knowing that his efforts and ambitions had all been for naught, he just gave up and let the motion carry him away, just so he could be with Pikachu, in a place where his friends were waiting.

I would like to think that he'll realize that his mother loved him and was holding out hope that he'd recover all that time. On the flip side, though, when he sees her he knows that the hope she had is totally broken and she'd come to the crushing realization that the worst thing that can befall a parent has happened to her: outliving her only child. At once he knows he is loved and that it means that the one closest to him is utterly crushed.

Still, there are other possibilities. The fountain of time flows in mysterious ways. One could not go back, against the current such as Gatsby; but, one could never see what is waiting for him downstream. Ash finally defeats Lance, only to be confronted by not Gary Oak, but a mute, mirror image of himself.

The voice of the narrator speaks to him, telling him that now he can finally escape the prison of his own mind. One by one, his friends appear and melt away into more copies of him, all cheering him on. After a long tough battle against himself with the assistance of all of his Pokémon he had ever befriended, he jolts awake.

In his hospital room he sees his parents asleep; he finds himself unable to speak.

Ash pushes forward towards his recovery. Going through physical therapy, training harder and harder with rehabilitative Pokémon, until he can walk on his own again. This time, an older and wiser ash sets out on a journey. Just like last time, he's late getting to Professor Oak's laboratory. And when there's only one Pokémon left....He suddenly recalls all his memories of his "life" and realizes that all his friends are gone forever.

As he sets out with his new companion, he finds the world is darker than he imagined. More "real", Pokémon and people die; he too has aged.

He vows to become the Master he dreamed he was. He vows to himself.

He vows to "them".


	2. The First EndingPart 1

The First Ending

A/N: Okay, so this is the first of many possible endings. I'm going to make these longer than most of my other stories and hope you all like them! Here's the First Ending!

__Delia paced around the room for the third time that day. A two year old boy tugged at her skirt.

"Mommy sad?" He asked, looking up with tearing eyes.

"No, mommy just needs to think," She replied. The doctors had asked her that day if she wanted the life support to Ash shut off. He'd been in a coma for five years.

"Darling, I'll go along with whatever you say," Her new husband said picking up the little boy.

"I know. I just…" Delia stopped watching Ash's bed.

"Delia, what is it?" He asked turning towards the bed. He gasped. Ash was awake.

"Ash!" Delia exclaimed running over and hugging him.

"Mom? What's the matter? What happened?" Ash asked looking around the room.

"Ash, you've been in a coma for five years! Oh my goodness, I'm so happy you're alright!" Delia exclaimed, tears running down her face.

"Mommy cwying?" The little boy asked.

"Mom, who's that?" Ash asked pointing toward the two.

"Well, while you were in your coma I remarried. That's your step-father David and your little brother Kenan," Delia replied, pulling away and looking at him.

"Ugh, this is weird," Ash muttered.

"What's weird honey?" Delia asked.

"I had a very real dream while I was in the coma. I was going on different journeys in different regions and getting Pikachu taken from me. I made friends and they all left. In the end I had finally beaten the Elite Four and was a Pokemon Master. That's when I woke up in this bed," Ash explained.

"Honey, it was all just a big dream. The doctor will be in here in a minute and will make sure that you're okay," Delia said.

"Ash, I hope that you and I can start learning more about each other. I want you and me to become good friends," Dave told him.

"Mom, how exactly did I end up in a coma?" Ash asked.

"We found you and Pikachu on the ground near a burnt bike. We don't know exactly what happened," Delia replied.

"Daddy, my hungwy," Kenan told him.

"Okay, Delia I'm going to take Kenan for something to eat. Do you want anything?" David asked looking at Delia.

"I'm fine. I had a lot for breakfast," She replied.

David walked past the doctor who had just walked in and took Kenan to get some lunch.

"So, you're awake now. That's good. I don't want you eating anything right now. We don't know how your stomach would handle having food put into after so long without it," The doctor told them walking over to Ash and doing different test.

**An hour later**

"I'll start physical training sessions for him so that he can relearn how to walk and things. Delia, someone is here that would like to speak with you," The doctor said walking out of the room with Delia.

_**This is all too strange. **_Ash thought to himself as he pushed the covers off his body. He carefully slipped over to the side of the bed and swung his legs over. He hoped for the best and carefully pushed himself closer to the floor.

He held onto the edge of the bed and tried to stand straight. He wobbled a little but, was able to stand. He carefully and slowly lifted his hand from the bed. At that moment his stomach clenched and he retched all over the floor. He scrambled into bed and closed his eyes.

After five minutes the doctor and Giovanni walked in. Delia was right behind them.

"Dad?" Ash asked making a face.

Giovanni walked over quickly and hugged Ash tightly. "I'm so sorry I left you and your mother. I've regretted it ever since I got the phone call that you were going on your Pokemon Journey," Giovanni said, tears coming from his eyes.

"I'm fine now," Ash replied as a cleaning lady came in and cleaned up the mess.

"Listen, your mother and I are working out holidays and things. I'll try to be a better Father, I truly will," Giovanni whispered standing up.

Ash nodded.

The day went on uneventfully. Relatives and friends came to visit Ash and even Misty came.

"I should have come with you when you asked for my bike," She had said.

Ash had forgiven her and they talked for a little bit and then the doctor said that Ash needed rest and everyone but Delia, David, and Kenan had to leave.

**Ash's Dream**

He's back in his coma dream. He's sitting in a big chair in a mansion.

"Ash! You're back!" Brock exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked looking confused.

"You disappeared. Don't you remember?" Max asked.

"How'd you get here?!" Ash asked standing up.

"Mae and I flew over a while ago. After you won the Pokemon League in Sinnoh and were announced Pokemon Master," Max replied.

Ash leaned back in his chair.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed jumping onto his lap.

Ash petted the Pokemon and sighed.

"Ash, someone is here to challenge you," he heard Richie's voice call over the loudspeaker.

Ash walked out of the office and everything began to dissolve like it did when he had awoken from his coma. He yelled no before waking up.

**End Dream**

Ash woke with a start. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It read 9:00.

"Good Morning," the doctor said walking in. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I have a headache and I'm hungry," Ash replied.

"Are you ready to try to eat food again? You threw up yesterday just from standing up," the doctor told him.

"I won't eat anything solid I guess. I could have some soup or something," Ash replied.

"We'll try that in a minute. I need you to tell me if you dreamed about the same thing that you did while in your coma," the doctor asked him.

"Yeah," Ash replied, his stomach growling.

"Interesting. I'll send someone in with some food for you and the we'll get you in for your physical therapy," the doctor said standing up.

Ash nodded and laid back. "Mom?"

"Yes Ash?" She asked, putting down a magazine that she was holding.

"Well, before the lightning hit me I had that Pikachu. Where is it?" Ash asked.

"Oh, Professor Oak is taking care of it. It's been really down in the dumps since the doctor said that you were in a coma. I think it blames its self for what happened," Delia replied.

"Mom, I don't think I want to go on a Pokemon journey anymore. I want to spend the time I've lost with you and David and Keenan."

"You do what you want. I don't want you staying behind if you feel sorry for us."

"I just don't feel like it. Maybe I'll go with Keenan when he's old enough."

"He has about a year and a half until he's ten, Ash."

"I guessed as much."

The door opened and a nurse walked in with a bowl of soup and a glass of water for Ash. She set it on his lap and then left.

**Later(After Ash's physical therapy)**

"Ow, my legs hurt," Ash mumbled after getting settled in his bed. It was late in the evening. Around eight o' clock.

"That will probably be like that for awhile. Your legs aren't used to carrying your weight yet Ash," Delia said.

"When did the doctor say I can go home?" Ash asked looking from Delia to David.

"They want to do a sleep study Ash. They think that your coma world is trying to pull you back into it," David replied.

"When?" Ash asked, looking at his mother's worried expression.

"We don't know, Ash," Delia replied with a straight face.

"Get some rest. We'll talk in the morning," David told him.

Ash began to lay on his side and hugged the blanket close to him.

**Dream**

Ash was standing in the middle of an arena.

"Are you gonna be a wimp or are you actually gonna start trying?!" Ash heard Paul yell.

"Wanna try me?!" Ash yelled back with a smug smile. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt on his Ursaring!"

The battle continued for some time. In the end Paul won.

"Looks like I'm Pokemon Master now. Too bad for you Ash. You will never be able to beat me," Paul scoffed.

Ash fell to his knees as the room around him began to dissolve again.

_**A/N: Okay, so I'm going to make this into a two part Ending. That will probably be how they all will be. Read and tell me what you think!**_


	3. The First EndingPart 2

_**First Ending(Part 2)**_

_**A/N: Okay, so here's part two. I messed up a little in the chapter before. Some of you may be confused as to Keenan's age. He is two years old. Anyway, here's the chapter! I don't know much about comas. I don't want to waste my time looking it up. I have a lot to do right now… For the sake of this story let's just say that having the same dream from a coma is a rare case.**_

_****Recap****_

_**The doctor has realized Ash is dreaming about what happened in the coma. This is worrying him. Ash is has also lost the title of Pokemon Master in his dream? Could this mean that he may slip back into the coma? Could this mean the end of Ash Ketchum?**_

_****End Recap****_

Ash awoke with tears covering his now pale face. A quick look at the clock told him that it was only two in the morning. He carefully moved to get out of bed and stop when Delia began to stir.

"Ash? Is something wrong?" Delia asked groggily.

"No," He whispered. "I just had to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, alright honey. Just remember, if anything is bothering you, you can talk to David and me," Delia told him turning over in the chair and repositioning her blanket.

Ash slipped out of bed and waited for the soft breathing of his mother to return before opening the door and leaving the room. He carefully walked towards his doctor's, Doctor Wood, office. He opened the door and slipped inside.

Dr. Wood was laying his head on the desk mumbling to himself.

Ash cleared his throat.

He looked up and said, "What are you doing up out of bed? And up so early as well."

"I told you that I was having the same dream as I did in the coma. Well, when I woke up I had fulfilled my dream of becoming a Pokemon Master. This morning when I woke up I lost that title. I'm worried that maybe I might slip into a coma again if I fall asleep until I become a Master in my dreams."

"Well, that could happen Ash. Right now I'm puzzled. It's extremely rare for a coma patient to have the dream they did while in the coma. The last people know to have that happen slipped back into a coma. The people that the thing happened to were both adults. They were taken off life support and died. I don't know what will happen with you. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to scare you. I'm letting you know."

"I understand. I'm not going back to sleep. May I stay in here with you?" Ash asked.

"It gets boring in here. As you can see," Doctor Wood said motioning to his desk full of papers and things.

"It'll be more interesting watching you do your work than walking back to my room without getting caught might be fun but, I think I'll just stay here and watch you work. I have a much deeper respect for doctors now that I know I've been in a coma for five to six years."

"Well Ash. I want you to know that you're in good hands."

**Ten o'clock in Ash's room**

"Where do you think he went?" Delia asked David.

"Ash gone?" Keenan asked, his eyes starting to tear up.

"No, he'll come back," Delia said.

The door opened and Dr. Wood walked in. "I'm sorry for worrying you Delia. Ash came to me this morning with some concerns. We started running some tests on him and they are still going on. He told me something that worried me.

"In his dream he lost the title as Pokemon Master. He told me that he woke up once he got that title. This has only happened about twice in medical history. That was to adults. Both were male patients. They slipped back into their comas and never woke back up. Don't worry too much though. Ash is a strong boy and I'm ready to do everything in my power to make sure that he stays with us," Dr. Wood told them.

Delia cried into David's shoulder.

"Delia, it'll be alright. From the things I've heard from you, Giovanni, and Professor Oak that Ash is very strong willed and that he won't give up without a fight. He'll fight to see you smile again Delia," David told her, running his hand through Delia's hair to comfort her.

Keenan began to cry.

"What's the matter?" David asked, looking down at him.

"Mommy cwying, Ash hurt, and m-m-might go bye-bye," Keenan replied rubbing his eye.

Delia knelt down and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Keenan, Doctor Wood will take good care of your big brother. He'll be okay."

"Mommy okay now?" Keenan asked.

Delia kissed him on the forehead and picked him up.

**Ash**

Ash was inside an MRI. He laid perfectly still and tried to stay calm. He couldn't think about anything or fall asleep because the machine made a whole lot of noise. Silent tears fell from his eyes as his mind wandered to a happier time. His mom had taken him to get things for his birthday party.

"Hold on Ash. It's almost finished," He heard Dr. Wood's voice over the intercom system in the room.

Ash waved the bottom part of his left hand.

**A few hours later in Ash's room(hospital still)**

"Are you alright?" Delia asked him.

"I'm fine right now. I don't know whether Doctor Wood will approve but, until we can make sure that I won't slip into a coma again I'm not going to sleep," Ash stated firmly.

"I don't know Ash. We need to make sure that you're safe," David said.

"I'm just worried. I don't want to miss more of my life," Ash told her.

"We need to wait and see what Dr. Wood comes up with," David told him.

"I know. I just want to make sure that I don't miss Keenan growing up or maybe making up with my Father. I'm glad that Mom found someone that loves her and all and I'm glad that you two are in love. I want to get to know you David. Maybe even start calling you Dad," Ash told them, tears starting to roll down his face.

"Oh Ash!" Delia exclaimed, hugging Ash. "Don't worry. We'll get through this. I don't think that with all the people rooting for your recovery we'll lose you."

"Ash, we'll stay here and wait for you to wake up just like we did before," David said.

"No, if I fall back into a coma I want you to cut off my life support. I've missed five years of my life already and if I slip back into it then I might miss another five, maybe ten!" Ash exclaimed.

"I love you Ash," Delia whispered.

"I love you too, Mom," Ash whispered hugging her back.

**Later that day**

"Hi Ash!" Misty exclaimed walking in.

"Hi," He replied quietly.

"I just came to see how you all are doing. I closed the gym early today to come visit for awhile. I talked with your mom a minute ago in the hallway. She told me what you and the doctor decided. I just wanted to let you know that us Gym Leaders are rooting for you to get better. Even the Elite Four is," Misty told him.

"Thanks. When I first met you I thought that you were just a big jerk. Now, I realize that you feel bad for what happened and I want to let you know that it's not your fault. I'm happy you didn't follow me. You would've ended up in a coma with me," Ash told her.

Misty smiled. "Thank you. I hope that you recover. If there's anything that I can do for you…" She trailed off.

"Could you find out if Professor Oak can get Pikachu here? If the doctors will allow?" Ash asked her.

Misty smiled wider. "I can try." She left.

**Later**

"Alright, all the test have come back. Everything is normal," Dr. Wood told them. "I want to conduct a sleep study tonight. I know that you're afraid Ash but, I need you to understand that this could make it go away forever. Would you agree to this sleep study?"

Ash took in a deep breath. "I… Okay."

David hugged Ash. "Don't be afraid. Me and your mother will be here watching you."

"Keenan too!" Keenan exclaimed jumping in the air.

"Oh, Ash, there's someone here to see you," Dr. Wood said turning around and taking something from another doctor.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed jumping onto Ash's bed.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, hugging the little mouse-like pokemon.

"You can have him with you during the study if you like," Dr. Wood told them.

Ash nodded.

**That night(Ash's Dream)**

"Ash! Are you alright?" Mae asked helping him up.

"No, I'm not. This is a dream! It's all a dream!" Ash yelled, holding his head.

"Ash, what do you mean?" Brock asked.

"This is a lucid dream!" Ash yelled.

"A lucid dream?" Mae asked.

"A dream where you know it's a dream," Brock replied.

"I want out. I want to be with my mom, Keenan, and David. I don't want to stay in this dream forever," Ash whispered.

"Ash?! Are you alright?!" Richie asked running up.

Ash pushed them all away.

**Delia**

"Mom," Ash whispered in his sleep.

Tears fell from her eyes as she thought about Ash not waking up.

Giovanni quietly walked into the room and sat next to Delia. David was on the other side, Keenan asleep on his lap. "Are you alright, Delia?"

She shook her head. She leaned her head on David's shoulder and tried to calm down.

**Ash's Dream**

"What are you doing?! Ash, are feeling alright?" Brock asked, walking back towards him.

"Stay back! You're not real, you're not real," Ash began muttering to himself.

"Ash," Mae whispered.

The world began to dissolve again but, this time Ash was laying in his bed in Pallet town.

"Ash! Wake up!" Delia yelled up the stairs.

"What the-" Ash exclaimed sitting up. Ash ran down the stairs.

"Hurry up. Your friends are here to talk to you," Delia told him as he came to a halt in front of her.

Ash walked to the door and swung it open.

Misty hugged him. "Ash, Paul quit. He decided he wanted to go back to being normal old Paul! You're the Pokemon Master again!"

"Good. Now maybe I can get out of this dream," Ash muttered.

**Delia**

It was already ten in the morning and Ash hadn't woken up.

"He still there somewhere Delia. He's not in a coma yet," Dr. Wood told her.

"It'll be okay Delia," David told her.

She walked over to Ash's sleeping form and began to shake his shoulders. "Wake up Ash. Wake up!"

**Ash's Dream**

The got to the Pokemon Master's mansion.

"Ash, do you think Paul will come back?" Richie asked.

"Who knows. I just want to wake up already," Ash muttered as they all left the room. "I wanna go home…"

"Pika pi?" Pikachu asked, walking towards Ash.

Tears ran down Ash's face. "I wanna go home Pikachu. I wanna play baseball with my little brother, I want to hang-out with my dad, I want to talk with my step-dad," He whispered.

The room began to dissolve.

**Delia**

"David, will you and Giovanni take Keenan to get lunch?" Delia asked.

"Alright. I'll see you soon," He told her, quickly kissing her on the lips. He picked up Keenan and quickly left the room with Giovanni.

Delia sat down on the bed next to Ash and wiped his hair out of his face. It had gotten so long while he was in that coma.

"Mo..ther," He muttered.

Tears formed in Delia's eyes as she hugged her son.

"Mom?" She heard him asked.

She pulled away and then hugged him even tighter. "Oh, Ash! I thought you were gone for good this time! Oh, Ash!" She exclaimed and hugged him even tighter.

"You're squishing me," He told her.

"I'm sorry Ash. I was just so worried," Delia cried.

_**And that was that. Ash went through much physical therapy and learning. After three months he was able to go home. When Keenan turned ten Ash let him have Pikachu. Pikachu watched over Keenan until he became a Pokemon Master. All is well that ends well… At least this time.**_

_**A/N: Okay, end of First Ending!!!! Yay! I don't know how many different endings I will make. Ideas are welcome also.**_


	4. Little Note

Author's Note:

I no, I no. I'm probably gonna get in trouble for this. I just wanted to you all know that I won't be updating as fast because school has started yet again. I just wanted to make sure that you all will hang in there and wait patiently for my chapters to come out. I'm sorry if it goes slow for this first month or two. I don't know how much homework I'll be getting. Anyway, I would love you all to be able to read my stories and not get bored so I will try to make them longer also. I don't know how that will work out though.

MoonlitxAngel


	5. The Second Ending

The Second Ending…

A/N: Okay, this will stay on Writer's block because this is the only idea I have so far and I'm waiting for someone to type me up a rough draft of a chapter that they want. Anyway, here it is!

"Mrs. Ketchum, we're sorry to say that your insurance no longer covers life support for your son. I can give you a day to come up with the money though," Dr. Martin told her early one fall afternoon.

Delia shook her head. "I can't make the payment to the insurance company to make keep life insurance."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Ketchum. We'll wait ten more minutes and then we'll go in there and shut it off," Dr. Martin told her. "Call anyone that might want to say good-bye."

**Nine Minutes later**

Delia was crying into Giovanni's shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay?" Dr. Martin asked her with a concerned expression.

Delia nodded as Giovanni stroked her hair.

Dr. Martin began flipping switches.

**Ash's Dream**

"You finally did it!" Brock exclaimed running up to Ash.

"Yeah, I finally did," Ash whispered.

Everything began to disintegrate around Ash.

**Delia**

She looked at Ash's peaceful expression and saw a smile cross his face. "Mom," he muttered.

"Ash," Delia sobbed out.

"Mom, I finally did it. I won the Pokemon League," he whispered.

Tears formed in Delia's eyes. "I'm so proud of you." she said smiling down at him.

"He's going to die either way. We might as well make sure he's happy as he dies," Dr. Martin whispered.

"We're so proud of you Ash," Giovanni said, tears being held back.

Ash's eyes began to droop. "I love you Mom, Dad."

**A few days later**

"I'm so sorry Delia," Professor Oak whispered during the visitation of the funeral.

"I still can't believe Ash is really gone," Delia cried. She hugged Professor Oak.

"Let's be happy that Ash died happy," Oak told her giving her a quick hug.

"I know that I should be happy that Ash is finally at peace but, I wish he was still alive," she whispered. She walked up to the casket and looked at Ash's face, tears falling onto his face.

**Next Day at the Funeral**

"Ash Ketchum lived a good life. He left on his tenth birthday to fulfill his dream of being a Pokemon Master. It was that fateful day five years ago that Ash fell into his coma. Ash was a boy full of hopes and dreams and made everyone happy that he met. He was a very energetic and strong-willed boy. He will always live on in our hearts," Delia said reciting her speech.

**After the Funeral(in Pallet)**

"Mrs. Ketchum, I'm sorry. It's all my fault that Ash died. I shouldn't have lent him my bike that-" Misty started.

Delia hugged her and began crying. "It's not your fault Misty. I'm just happy I get to meet the girl that was one of the last people to talk with my son."

"It IS my fault though. I shouldn't have let him go in that storm," Misty said. "I'm sorry for your loss though Mr. Ketchum."

"Thank you. I'm sorry if I'm getting a little personal but, why are you visiting Pallet Town. I wouldn't think you would just come her to say sorry."

"Oh, you haven't heard yet? Gary and I are going out," Misty replied.

"Oh! How long?" Delia asked.

"About a year now," Misty replied. "I've got to go! See you later Mrs. Ketchum!" She ran to the Oak household.

**Several Years Later**

Misty was walking up the aisle with her eldest sister at her side. She looked forward and saw Gary Oak standing there with a smile in his black tux.

"Good luck," whispered Delia Ketchum as Misty passed by.

Misty looked at her dress. It was a beautiful white. It had an intricate design up the skirt. It was a tangle of thread and lace. The shoulders were made so there were different strands falling over her shoulders.

**After the wedding ceremony**

"Ash was watching our wedding," Misty whispered.

"How do you know?" Gary asked as they rode to the reception.

"I can feel it," Misty replied giving Gary a quick kiss.

**Eight years later**

"Mommy!" A little six-year-old girl with brown hair and emerald colored eyes exclaimed. "I found brother!"

Misty ran up to her daughter and hugged her. "Good job!"

"Misty! Ash! Ashley!" Gary's voice rang through the cemetery.

"Shh! Daddy can't find us!" A boy with light brown hair that was cut in a messy fashion whispered.

"Be as quiet as you can Ash. Daddy will never find us," Misty whispered to him.

Gary crept up behind them and hugged all three. "We need to stop messing around. We promised Delia we would be at the grave fifteen minutes ago."

"Okay, c'mon Ash and Ashley," Misty told them taking their hands in hers.

"Do you have the flowers?" Gary asked.

Misty pulled out an assortment of many different colored roses. There were blue, red, pink, and yellow.

"Thank you for coming here today," Delia said as they got closer.

"Well, we couldn't exactly not come. Grandpa told me that if I didn't come and visit his grave and Ash's when he died he would come back and haunt me. I _**DON'T**_ want to find out if that would actually happen," Gary replied.

"Well, let's all hope that Ash and Samuel have met each other in Heaven," Delia said looking up to the sky as it began to rain.

_**A/N: Well, there it is!!!!!!! Second Ending 2!! If anyone has any ideas for more Endings they are welcome!**_


End file.
